I have some very, very (okay, I’m exaggerating) serious news- I have bought makeup (CUE DRAMATIC MUSIC- DUN. DUN. DUN!!)

I know, I know. After almost 6 months I really caved in and bought quite a bit of makeup from CVS in their so, so tempting “BOGO 50% off” deal of the week.

I have been eyeing Rimmel’s Lasting Finish by Kate (Moss) lipsticks for the longest time and as I’ve never tried Rimmel before I kind of went to town. I bought 3 of these bad boys- THREE. Lord knows that I do NOT need more lipstick, but the shades were so bold and bright that I completely went nuts. Plus the sleek, matte, black packaging was not helping either. In the end, I bought all 3 for right around $10, which wouldn’t even buy me ONE M.A.C. lipstick. I think that is a fantastic deal!

I really prefer this packaging over most drugstore lipsticks. It just has a subtle sexiness, yes?I have to admit, that is quite a cute logo.

Anyway moving on to the actual product, the lipsticks are only numbered and not named so these are the shades I picked out- 01, 09, and 17.

I think Rimmel really nailed this one. It is just the perfect red, almost retro, shade.

This is a very bright, berry shade that leans on the red side. On my lips it’s more of a red with a bluish undertone.

This is a really pretty mid-tone pink that is a really good everyday color. My lips are a bit more pigmented so this is almost like a nude, peachy lipstick for me.

Here are swatches of all 3 for you all to see:

From left to right: 01, 09, 17

For my 4th and last product from Rimmel, I just grabbed a liquid eyeliner since I’m all out (remember to throw those out every 3-4 months just like mascara!) It is Rimmel’s Glam Eyes, which just comes in a standard liquid eyeliner bottle and brush.

So next I also bought a few things from Maybelline. I bought TWO of the Color Tattoos that has gotten so much buzz over youtube and the blogging sphere that I just had to get them. I bought the shades 35 Tough as Taupe and 70 Barely Branded. They are oh so, so pretty and they pair together wonderfully. Tough as Taupe is a true taupe with no shimmer and Barely Branded is a champagne, metallic, practically nude color. These were a bit more pricy than the lipsticks and they came around to two for $8.00.

35 Tough as Taupe70 Barely Branded

I also picked up the Age Rewind Concealer in the shade 60, which is supposed to be their illuminator/highlighter concealer so I thought it would be a really good choice to brighten up those sad, dark circles underneath my eyes.

I also got a waterproof mascara- the Volume Express “One by One”. I’ll tell you how that goes.

Also, I picked up two of the Sally Hansen Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips in 310 Wild Child and 410 Love Letter. I got these because I absolutely cannot paint my nails without looking like a crazy mess and these looked easy enough for even a clumsy girl like me to apply without too much trouble.

L: Wild Child, R: Love Letter

I’m going to try to not buy any more makeup AGAIN for the next few months. I will definitely be enjoying these beauties though :)!

I’ve been on this “makeup ban” for almost 5 complete months now so I thought it was about time for a quick review and recap over what has happened/changed since I started this project on January 1st.

1. I failed miserably with the no clothing ban.

I’ve bought a trench, a purse, 2 dress shirts, 4 dresses, a cardigan, a skirt, and a pair of ballet flats. Obviously, I had to put a stop to the ban right away because there was no way I could justify all of that.

2. I’ve done pretty well on the makeup front. I’ve only bought products that I really had no alternative to- for example I used up all of my concealer and finally took the plunge and bought the bobbi brown corrector and concealer (okay, that’s two things) and I love it.

3. However, I was gifted makeup by my boyfriend so that made it loads easier for me. To be fair though, it was a foundation and an eyelash curler (does that count as makeup?).

4. I’ve been able to buy cosmetic “non-makeup” items like the MAC cosmetics Studio Fix+ Spray and Brush Cleanser, nailpolish, and hair accessories.

Overall, I still think I’m doing a great job and I’ve definitely noticed that I’m not as makeup-obsessed as before. I really have come to appreciate what I already have so much more and have found ways to use products in different ways. I feel better off financially and I feel less guilty for doing other things like eating out, etc.

Anywho, I wanted to keep this short and simple. Thanks so much for reading!

It’s been two weeks since my last post and I’ve missed you all so much! Over the past two weeks, I’ve gotten my butt kicked by midterms and my body invaded by the flu virus (and I’m still recovering from both). I’m really happy with the amount of entries I have in my giveaway and if you haven’t entered to win the Urban Decay Mariposa Paletteyet, please do so right here. Unfortunately it’s a U.S. only giveaway and ends March 31, 2013.

Moving on, over the past couple weeks my determination to not buy any clothes this year has been broken down. I haven’t bought any clothes yet but with Spring break coming up, I know I’m going to be wanting to add a few Spring and Summer pieces to my wardrobe. I’m terribly sorry :(.

That being said, going almost three months without buying any clothes has not been easy. I love fashion, although I would not call myself “trendy” or “fashionable”. Most of my clothes are either black, grey, or white. I have to say I actually love and prefer it this way because it’s easy to match my clothes and it makes my clothes last longer throughout the seasons. I still do have a couple of statement pieces that stand out just for some variety.

Also, I wouldn’t say I have a ton of clothes. It’s definitely not as out of control as my makeup obsession. I have about 3 good pairs of jeans (1 blue, 2 black) and about 4 pairs of pants that I love (2 white, 1 purple, 1 plaid). I have a couple casual dresses and a couple skirts. I do have a good number of tops from tees to sweaters but not anything truly “springy”.

Sites that I love looking at are gojane and francesca’s. Here are a few pieces from these shops that I absolutely love(they are linked!):

These pieces are just for inspiration and I definitely can’t get them all. I’m still going to try to keep my shopping to a minimum and only buy items that I truly love that will last me through the seasons, not just for a season.

I feel as though my “no spending for a year” is pretty similar to a diet- instead of food, it’s makeup and clothes! Now, this is pretty tough, I have definitely cut my spending by a lot (more than half) since I started and my perspective has slowly changed as well.

I used to watch youtube “my makeup collection” videos and I used to be extremely jealous of all the makeup other people had. Now, I’m not really jealous at all. Sometimes too much is simply too much. After seeing someone, I won’t name who, who had a whole cabinet devoted solely to lip products, I was really happy I didn’t have that much. There were about 9 drawers full of lipstick, lipgloss, and lip treatments (and this was after she gave away 70% of her stuff). Needless to say, maybe I am a bit jealous of her nicer items, but overall it just seemed a bit bizarre to have that many lip products. I’m lucky if I get through 4-5 tubes a YEAR. Compared to some, I have a reasonable amount, and by reasonable I mean ONE traincase of makeup, not completely filled up. Still, that is too much to me because I hate throwing away makeup that I haven’t really used (that expired) because I was busy using all my other products. By the end of this year my goal is to have 2-5 items of any “type” of product, i.e. foundation, powder, eyeshadow palettes, lip stick, lip gloss, or blush.

Pretty much all my makeup (a few things are back in my bf’s apartment in Boston)

So I’ll be starting a “series” ( I don’t know what to call it) of what I do have, so yes, it is my own “makeup collection”.

However, on the clothes aspect of things, I really don’t have a lot, but still I don’t want to buy random stuff that I’ll only wear for a season just because I found it on sale (I want to find something on sale that is timeless :)) So I was thinking like a diet, maybe I can do one “cheat day” a month. Obviously, I can’t just buy everything on that day (that would ruin the point of my project) but I can buy ONE item that cannot exceed in price over $50 that I can justify by using it for AT LEAST two years. I feel by letting myself have one cheat item a month I will be less tempted to buy things and it can be a little “reward” for sticking to my plan.

Now that classes have resumed (oh, winter holiday why’d you have to go so soon?), I’m back to my morning routine of pressing the snooze button 7 times in a row before finally waking up, splashing some water on my face, brushing my teeth, quickly putting makeup on while drinking coffee, eating yogurt, and then rushing out the door. Needless to say, I spend very little time putting on makeup for class. Still, I try to look decent (allright, decently hygienic) so that I don’t scare people away.

Here are the few products that I have found that are easy to put on and doesn’t smudge everywhere!